ArticlesNational Research Foundation Amendment Act Signed

The bill was published for comment in 2016 and tabled in parliament in October 2017.

Parliament passed the bill and sent it to president Ramaphosa for assent in December 2018.

The act seeks to amend the National Research Foundation Act of 1998, so as to:

• delete and insert certain deﬁnitions; • provide for the Minister to determine national policies and issue policy guidelines for implementation; • extend the functions, powers and duties of the Foundation; • empower the Minister to make regulations relating to the determination of national research facilities; • provide for the withdrawal of the determination or transfer of a national research facility; • empower the Minister to declare a research institution and its eligibility to receive funding; • make certain textual alterations; • provide for the liquidation of the Foundation; • delete certain inappropriate or obsolete provisions; and • provide for matters connected therewith.

The act will come into effect on a date still to be determined by the president.